A former swim coach at an all-girls’ school in Australia will stand trial after being accused of sexually abusing a child.
Jayden Brian, who was a swim coach at Methodist Ladies’ College in Melbourne, will stand trial in July after pleading not guilty to 10 charges, including sexually touching a child under the age of 16, grooming for sexual conduct and possessing child abuse material.
Brian appeared in front of Magistrate William Parker, who said he was “satisfied” that there was enough evidence for Brian to stand trial on July 10 in the County Court of Victoria.
Before the trial, Brian will have to report to the Altona police station two days a week, is unable to visit the suburb of Hawthorn, leave his Altona North address between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and is only allowed to use electronics without internet access.
In October, Brian was reportedly taken into custody while coaching poolside for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, according to news.com in Australia.
According to police, Brian and the girl connected on social media, and he allegedly agreed to buy alcohol and cigarettes for her while arranging to meet on Sept. 30.
The court alleges that the 13-year-old asked if they could meet up on Sept. 25, and the two met in a Mazda 3 sedan. Police say Brian touched and kissed the child in the car before leaving and providing her a $50 digital card from Amazon later that day.
The child reported the incident two days later, and an undercover operation was launched, according to the court.
A covert operative communicated with Brian on Sept. 29, pretending to be a 15-year-old child. The court alleges that Brian pretended to be 17.
Through the course of the conversation, Brian requested to meet with the officer he thought was a 15-year-old girl, and then sent a photo of himself wearing a Methodist Ladies College shirt. He was arrested shortly thereafter.
The court alleges that there were upwards of 50 child abuse material images and videos on Brian’s phone and school-issued iPad, and that there is evidence of him communicating with young girls on social media as far back as 2018.
Brian is no longer a coach at Methodist Ladies’ College, but the court was told there were no complaints made about him from anyone at that institution.
